Human beings are into altered states of consciousness… We are willing to spend money to perceive the world in a different way. Whether it’s our fierce appetite for mind-altering drugs, or virtual reality, technologies like cinema, or even going into a casino or hiring a prostitute; human beings will spend to feel different to go into an altered state.

Today we’re seeing a renaissance in the psychotherapeutic uses of psychedelic substances like MDMA or psilocybin mushrooms. Where human beings are now saying that, within the realm of altered states, might be a solution to our existential ills. That we might finally bridge a tunnel between ourselves and the infinite.

So, it is in the end through altered states, that we may even find our salvation. And I think this is really interesting. You know, I love to go to the movies. I love to go into a liminal trance when I lose myself in an alternate reality. I like to dream while I’m awake. I like the dream at night too, but if we can treat our normal waking lives as something that is as unbounded as our dreams, that is as unbounded as cinema, perhaps therein lies the future of human consciousness.

When technology can be sourced to take care of all of our ills and to handle our menial tasks might we free human imagination into a waking dream state? A lucid dream in which we live? Might we all fall into the rabbit hole? Might we all inhabit wonderland? Might we all get a pass to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory? It’s Never Ending Story, folks, and this is where we’re going to live.

Virtual reality technologies that are emerging now are indicative. We’re going to be living in a world rendered at the speed of thought. Condensations of human imagination. The universes built out of life and mind and intentionality… The Garden of Eden for sale - real soon.

The above post was lovingly crafted by Josiah Hultgren. Josiah Hultgren is Founder/CEO of MindFullyAlive, a Senior Lecturer at California Lutheran University, a NeuroCoach, and a practical neuroscience expert. He produces and curates mindfulness content designed to improve structure and functioning of the brain. His mission is to help create a more vibrant world and apply neuroscience in ways that help people reach their highest potential.

If you haven't tried VR yet and have a decent smartphone, LoVR by is a great excuse to drop $20 or so on a Google Cardboard headset and jump in. The immersive motion design piece tumbles you through a story of "love at first sight" in which brain data is presented as lines of prose.

For example:"He sees her" - Dopamine is released and there an activity spike in the nucleus accumbens."He looks into her eyes" - The amygdala fires and sends a signal via the accellerans nerve that increases his heart rate."Their heart opens" - Oxytocin gets released.

The "brain data" is intertwined with the story in way that draws you into the "subject's" inner-experience.

More than 100000 chemical reactions happen in your brain every second. So what about the moment you saw the girl of your dreams, and she saw you? If we could capture those few seconds what would the data look like?

LoVR is a document of this moment. A story of love, told through neural activity captured over 4 seconds. As chemicals are released and areas of the brain activated, a form of poetry is revealed within the data. The heart beats, the iris dilates and time stands still as two lovers see each other for the first time.

Below is the flattened, non-VR version. It's beautiful, but there is no comparison to the 3D, 360 degrees VR experience.

You can the stream VR video via Vittlstar or Vrideo, but we recommend downloading and viewing it using Within for a better quality experience on a mobile device. For those with an Oculus Rift, you can download it here.

The above post was lovingly crafted by Josiah Hultgren. Josiah Hultgren is Founder/CEO of MindFullyAlive, a Senior Lecturer at California Lutheran University, a NeuroCoach, and a practical neuroscience expert. He produces and curates mindfulness content designed to improve structure and functioning of the brain. His mission is to help create a more vibrant world and apply neuroscience in ways that help people reach their highest potential.

Meditation practices tend to be simple. So, it's ironic many apps about these practices are anything but that. That's why it's refreshing to discover an app like Sit: an iOS meditation app that has beautiful minimalism at the core of its design.

As an app, sit has only three components: a visually elegant timer with Tibetan bowl sounds, a quick journal, and a log of activity.

We wanted to build a tool that you could open and get started in one tap, every time. Simplicity came first and foremost. I wanted to write down thoughts that came to me and see some nice data about streaks, time of each session, etc.

The above post was lovingly crafted by Josiah Hultgren. Josiah Hultgren is Founder/CEO of MindFullyAlive, a Senior Lecturer at California Lutheran University, a NeuroCoach, and a practical neuroscience expert. He produces and curates mindfulness content designed to improve structure and functioning of the brain. His mission is to help create a more vibrant world and apply neuroscience in ways that help people reach their highest potential..